


the things that we could be

by slothy_girl



Series: that spark of black that i seem to love [7]
Category: One Direction (Band), The Addams Family (1991)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Addams Family, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Supernatural Elements, Twisted but Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-08-30
Packaged: 2018-02-15 08:43:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2222724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slothy_girl/pseuds/slothy_girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>and with every question asked, every inquiry made, every demonstration carefully and delicately planned out and executed, the tension bleeds more and more from their shoulders, the slight flinches they couldn’t seem to help when louis or harry appeared too suddenly or out of nowhere became more and more scarce, the distance between them growing smaller and smaller, until they were even closer than before everything was revealed, before everything dark and slightly twisted about the world was dragged out from the shadows it revels in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the things that we could be

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: This is all just a big writing experiment for me, as well as me trying to bring my dreams of an Addams' family AU to life, so I'm just trying to have fun with it! I would highly suggest reading at least the two previous parts before reading this, otherwise some things won't make sense considering this starts off right where the previous part left off.
> 
> I am not British in any way except in my ancestry, and this has not been Brit picked. If anyone is interested in helping out or just wants to offer some general constructive criticism, leave a comment or come say hi on my tumblr (slothy-girl)!
> 
> Title from the song "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic.
> 
> Thanks: Thank you to my wonderful beta, Jennifer! All mistakes are my own.
> 
> Possible Trigger Warnings: While I hate to spoil things, I’d rather you all be safe than sorry, so please heed the warnings! This fic contains some mentions to universe typical violence.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money off of this, and this is in no way a reflection on reality, etc.

louis always thought everything would change when the boys finally found out.

louis remembers thinking it would, that everything would change, that the boys would get too freaked out over the truth and reject them entirely, that harry and him finally breaking it to them would end up breaking them, end up being one of the worst decisions of their lives. and for a bit there, it seemed like he was right. but in the end, it looks like he should have listened more to harry’s tentative optimism than that small sliver of darkness in the corner of his heart that whispers ‘you’re not worth this.’

to be fair though, harry hasn’t been the sole reason why a marriage was torn apart, so louis feels like he is entitled to be much more cautious than harry in this. 

and the thing is, everything did change, just not in the way he thought it would. 

even after the apologies and cuddles and the question and answer, things don’t really go back to normal, don’t go back to how things once were; there are still the occasional awkward moments now and again when the other boys are around either of them. there’s still some hesitation, some distance, but it isn’t nearly as bad as those weeks of avoidance that louis still hasn’t quite forgiven them for; what’s important is that he can see that they’re trying, and he can understand, even sympathize, how and why such a dramatic, enormous reality check can be a bit difficult to process, to accept, to merge in with what they had always known.

he had had a similar experience when his mother finally broke it to him that he wasn’t like her, that she couldn’t do the things he could, that he couldn’t play rough with his little sisters the way he could with himself, that he couldn’t push them down the stairs, couldn’t bite into their arms and draw blood, couldn’t break their bones, couldn’t hold their heads under water until the air was gone from their lungs, and expect them to be fine. it had been a harsh truth to swallow, had scared him into putting up a front of normal, because he would never forgive himself if he hurt his sisters or mum, if he hurt his family. he learned how to let his cuts bleed, how to breathe through the unnaturalness of pain, how to will his bruises to stay around just a little while longer; he learned how to control his unnatural strength, to keep in tight control of himself and all the other unnatural quirks that made him other, that made him a freak.

all the control in the world didn’t stop him from slipping up though, and it had been one too many slip ups that had led to his step father leaving them.

it hadn’t been until louis had met harry, had met someone who was other just like him, had fallen in love with the green eyed idiot with the prettiest curls, that louis started letting go, started feeling that maybe, maybe, being other wasn’t so bad. harry became his rock, his center, the only home he would always return to; he would do anything for harry, and harry would do anything for him. if it wasn’t for harry, louis wouldn’t be the same lad he is today.

but he digresses; the point is, the point is that louis loves his boys and he can see that they still love him and harry too, that every day they are getting back to being comfortable with him again, getting back to being extensions of him, slipping back into the spaces, the niches, in his being they carved out over the past few years.

him and harry had decided not to flaunt their otherness, deciding that sort of exposure wasn’t conducive to easing their friends into everything, but they certainly don’t hide it from the other boys now that they know, now that they are accepting it, and it’s like a breath of fresh air compared to the stifling smog of lies and half truths. 

they don’t hold back with each other when it’s just them and the boys. louis once pushed harry out a two story window as a joke, watched him land on the pavement below with a thump; the other boys had looked stricken for a second, frozen in place, before harry’s maniac laughter floated back up through the window and they relaxed. 

harry had once trussed him up like a pig and chucked him in the over the top, large as fuck aquarium that their rented house had been equipped with when he couldn’t stand losing another game of fifa to him, couldn’t endure another round of teasing without doing something to let out some steam. liam and zayn had paused, hesitant to resume the game, but with harry’s easy prodding, they played, though not without glancing at him occasionally in his watery prison. niall had kept his eye on him for a while, lazily sipping a pint, his attention more on louis than the game; it had taken louis making ridiculous faces at him to stop, which he did, snorting his pint up his nose by accident and nearly coughing up a lung in the process.

and with every tattoo removed and replaced, every bruise healing in minutes, the boys seem to get more and more comfortable with it all. they are constantly asking questions now, more curious and intrigued than fearful and distant, and he and harry happily answer as best they can.

from passing questions about their abilities (“do you really not need to breathe?” niall asks him, probably remembering the incident with the aquarium, when harry still hasn’t emerged from the bottom of the pool where he is lounging about, probably enjoying the feel of the cool water circulating in his lungs. “well, no. not that we have seen, at least,” louis says.) to tentative inquires about their sex life (“oh god—you bloody wanker! I didn’t need to know that!” liam shouts, covering his eyes in mock exasperation, though the smile that tugs at his mouth just makes louis laugh harder.) to curious prods about the more unnatural practices that people like them partake in (“you guys are getting married in a graveyard?” zayn raises a brow, his nose scrunched up, his head tilted in something akin to fond exasperation, a face they are all quite familiar with, particularly harry. “it’s tradition!” harry beams as louis clasps his elegant hand in his own with a look of tender adoration.), they answer them all.

and with every question asked, every inquiry made, every demonstration carefully and delicately planned out and executed, the tension bleeds more and more from their shoulders, the slight flinches they couldn’t seem to help when louis or harry appeared too suddenly or out of nowhere became more and more scarce, the distance between them growing smaller and smaller, until they were even closer than before everything was revealed, before everything dark and slightly twisted about the world was dragged out from the shadows it revels in.

louis likes to think he would have been happy if nothing had changed between them and the boys when they finally found out; faced with this new, ever growing reality, however, louis thinks he would have missed out on a lot if nothing had changed.

he would have missed out on niall and harry tag teaming him to stuff him into the huge, industrial washing machine in one hotel’s basement (he just rode out the cycle, enjoying the peace and being lulled by the spinning interior), would have missed out on zayn doing research into different poisons and herbs, coming up to him with new kinds of blunts and drinks to try, with varying results, would have missed out on watching liam sparring with harry at full strength, no longer afraid that he could seriously hurt harry.

worst of all, he would have missed out on the smiles that spread across their faces when louis and harry invite them to meet the “mysterious” family friends from new jersey (ie. the addams), would never have seen liam giving wednesday pointers on how to give a proper, damaging punch, would never have shared a pint with gomez and zayn while they watched harry fawn over a pregnant morticia, helping her cut the flowering heads from their stems, would never have listened to niall and pugsley and fester get into an epically disgusting and awesome belching competition. 

when it came to lurch, the addams’ manservant, louis admits that he was quite proud of his boys; he could tell they were a little hesitant at first, lurch is a pretty big dude after all, but they came around quick and even offered handshakes to the manservant’s happy surprise.

and don’t even get him started on the boys’ reaction to meeting thing for the first time; despite how used to severed limbs the boys were by this point, the shouts of surprise they gave when it looked like niall had pulled gomez’s hand right off his arm were hilarious; harry and him and gomez had doubled over in laughter as niall flushed red and stammered out frantic apologies, dropping thing when he flexed in his hand. it was their faces when gomez finally formally introduced them to thing that got louis the most.

louis honestly can’t wait for them to meet cousin it.

there’s so much that would never have happened, so much louis would have lost without knowing, had they not revealed the truth, and though things did change, it was for the better, drew all five of them closer together until they were comfortable in their skins, sharing even the ugliest secrets without fear of passing judgments, and if that’s not something worth being happy for, well, louis doesn’t know what is.

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: There is only about one part left (maybe two depending on if I have the time and motivation, though it won't be out for a long while after the last official part), the majority of which are complete, and because school is starting back up for me soon, I want to try and get the rest of this out before I'm too overwhelmed to do anything about it, so I’m aiming for updating the series EVERY Friday, depending on real life. I can't make promises, but I will do my best!
> 
> Also, if someone could teach me how to link things in these notes, that would be brilliant!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
